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News : Over 1,000 Telkom Employees Affected by Outsourcing

#contactcenterworldJohannesburg, South Africa, May 1, 2015 -- Trade union Solidarity said that 1,170 Telkom employees have been affected by the outsourcing of the group’s three business operations that would be run by third parties.

Of those employees 724 accepted voluntary severance packages while the remaining 446 will be transferred to other companies that will take over the management and running of Telkom’s call-centre, IT legacy systems, internal printing operations‚ supply chain and properties.

Telkom said in February that the restructuring of the business was imperative for survival of the organisation and the intention is to build the right organisation for the future by improving performance. In 2013, the company adopted a turnaround plan to prop up its slipping market share and streamline its cost structure.

It has already shed 3,000 jobs, mainly through voluntary retrenchments and early retirements.

Marius Croucamp, head of Solidarity’s Communications Industry, said the terms and conditions of the employees affected by the outsourcing programme would remain unchanged.

Telkom will also close 20 of its non-performing Telkom Direct Stores. The group has a total of 95 stores across the country.

Mr Croucamp said Solidarity was doing "everything in its power" to prevent Telkom from retrenching any of its members at the company’s stores.

He said the union has discussed alternatives to retrenchments.

"We believe there are sufficient alternatives for those affected by the process. We have urged Telkom to consider these alternatives before taking definite action in the form of a forced retrenchment process," Mr Croucamp said.According to Solidarity, some of Telkom’s proposal includes offering voluntary severance packages and transferring some of the employees to profitable stores, placing some of them in vacant positions.

In addition to considering Telkom’s proposals, Solidarity will propose the formation of a task team to address the future of the Telkom Direct stores, says Mr Croucamp.

"The union will also make the necessary proposals to prevent future job losses at the company," he said.

About Telkom South Africa:Telkom SA SOC Ltd. is a wireline and wireless telecommunications provider in South Africa, and operating in more than 38 countries across the African continent. Telkom is a semi-privatised, 39% state-owned company.